Sewing machine needles



' March 3, 1970 w. R. PETERSON 3,498,242

SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES Filed on. 9. 19s? Fig.4.

Wesley R. Peterson Witness 0 a I (dmlind'zf ZTTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,498,242 SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES Wesley R. Peterson, Bound Brook,N.J., assignor to The Singer Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey Filed Oct. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 673,555 Int. Cl. Db 85/10 US.Cl. 112-224 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sewing machine needleof the hollow type formed from a blank of sheet metal having an edgeconfiguration designed to provide for the formation of the essentialcharacteristics of a needle, so that the blank when rolled forms ahollow needle which satisfactorily will sew in a standard sewingmachine.

The present invention relates to the art of sewing machines and moreparticularly to a hollow needle adapted for use in a sewing machine anda method of forming such a needle.

In order to provide a hollow needle that will sew satisfactorily it isnecessary that the needle withstand machine sewing abuse. The design ofthe hollow needle must be such that it will not fray the thread ormaterial fibers. Also, the thread freely must flow so that it will notbind as the needle carries the thread through materials being sewn. Inaddition to these characteristics, the needle point readily mustpenetrate the material being sewn and the needle eye has to be properlyoriented to perform proper machine sewing.

The present invention accomplishes the above and more by providing ahollow needle comprising an elongated sheet metal blank member with anedge configuration which provides for the formation of an eye, a point,thread clearance, etc., which structure is obtained when the needle isroll-formed from the sheet metal. The blank member is die-cut to thedesired size and is provided at one end with a pair of tapered pointswhich, when rollformed, form a conical point with its apex at thecenterline of the needle. The side edges disposed in proximity to saidone end of said member are designed to have a configuration such thatwhen the blank is rolled portions of the edges will overlap to form anaperture or needle eye. One of the embodiments of the present inventioncomprises an easy-threading type hollow needle wherein the overlappingportion of the side edges is sufficiently open to allow for thread entryby wiping the thread along the side of the needle into the needle eye.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present in vention to providea hollow sewing machine needle that is relatively simple in constructionand inexpensive to make.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hollow needlewhich can withstand sewing machine abuse and will not cause damage tothe material being sewn.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a hollow needlethat easily can be threaded.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a hollow needlethat will sew properly and duplicate the various functions ofconventional needles.

Having in mind the above and other objects that will be evident from anunderstanding of the disclosure, the invention comprises the combinationand arrangement of structure as illustrated in the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, which is hereinafter set forth in suchdetail as to enable those skilled in the art readily to understand thefunction, operation, construction and 3,498,242 Patented Mar. 3, 1970advantages of it when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsin which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a lowerportion of an elongated sheet metal blank member having the necessaryedge configuration required to form a hollow needle according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view of the blank member of FIG. 1rolled to form a hollow needle according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially through the line 33 ofFIG. 2 showing an easy-threading type hollow needle;

FIG. 3A is a sectional view substantially similar to FIG. 3 illustratinga roll-formed needle of the non-easythreading type;

FIG. 4 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1, but of another embodiment ofthe present invention comprising a hollow needle;

FIG. 5 is a partial elevational view of the blank member of FIG. 4rolled to form a hollow needle according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially through the line 66 ofFIG. 5 showing the needle designed for easy-threading.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referrin gmore specifically tothe drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is disclosed ahollow needle generally designated 11 roll-formed from an elongatedsubstantially flat metal blank member 12, which is cut to the desiredsize from a piece of sheet metal having an inner surface 13. It is to beunderstood that although the shank portion of the hollow needle is notfully illustrated, this part of the needle is designed so that theneedle may not be inserted and operably held in a needle clamp (notshown) on a standard sewing machine.

The metal blank 12 has a certain edge configuration disposed at anextremity 15 thereof, more appropriately defined as the needle pointportion. This edge configuration is designed to provide the necessaryshapes for rollforming a hollow needle. In the illustration given thehollow needle 11 is cylindrical in shape with a lumen 44 extendinglongitudinally therethrough and a needle point 42 formed at one end. Thehollow conical-shaped needle point 42 is formed by the edgeconfiguration comprising a pair of V-shaped tapered points 16 and 17,respectively formed by sloping edges 18, 19 and 20, 21. The edges 18 and19 and 20 and 21 slope downward towards each other as shown in FIG. 1,respectively to form the tapered points 16 and 17. The inner sides 18and 20 in turn define an inverted V-shaped cutout designated at 22.

The side edges of the metal blank 12 each are provided with an outwardlyextending protrusion designated generally by reference numerals 23 and24, which provide for formation of a needle eye 41 (FIG. 2). Theprotrusion 23, which is complemental to and is disposed external ofprotrusion 24 when the hollow needle 11 is formed (see FIG. 2),comprises a pair of similar oppositely sloped shoulder members 25, 26.These shoulders, which are rounded so as not to fray the thread or thematerial fibers, define a substantially T-shaped cutout area including achannel portion 29 formed by the extremities of the said shoulders andan elongated eyeforming area 31. The channel 29 extends inward towardthe blank '12 into the elongated cutout area 31 whose long diameter isdisposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the needle 11. Theremainder of the cutout area 31 is defined by an inner downward slopingedge 35 of the shoulder 26, and a longitudinally disposed edge 36 of theblank 12 disposed between the shoulders and 26, and in substantially thesame plane as an edge portion of the blank 12 disposed above an outerdownward sloping edge 34 of the shoulder 25. The upper portion of theedge 19 of the tapered point 16 defines the outer edge of the shoulder'25. Formed on the shoulders 25 and 26 are a pair of indentations 27 and27' provided above and below the needle eye 41, respectively, forsimulating the groove provided in a conventional needle. Theseindentations, when disposed as shown in FIG. 2, permit free flow of thethread as the needle penetrates the material. As shown in FIG. 1, theindentations are raised relative to the surface 13 of the metal blank12, that is, they extend toward the person viewing this figure. Theprotrusion 24, which is disposed on the edge of the blank 12 oppositeprotrusion 23, comprises an edge configuration including a lower roundedshoulder 28 and a vertical edge of the blank 12 terminating in a curvedinner edge 37. The upper portion of the edge 21 of the tapered point 17forms the outer edge of the lower shoulder 28, while the inner edgethereof is defined by an upward sloping edge 39. The rounded extremityof the shoulder 28 with the lower portion of the vertical edgesubstantially define a channel 30 which leads into an elongated cutoutarea 32 having an innermost edge 43 which is substantially similar tothe elongated area 31 disposed on the opposite side of the blank 12. Thecutout areas 31 and 32 are designed so that when the blank 12 isroll-formed into the needle 11, as shown in FIG. 2, a needle eye 41 isformed on one surface thereof wherein the edges 36 and 43 longitudinallydefine the sides of the needle eye and the inner edges of the shoulders25, 26 and 28 and the edge 37 effectively define the respective upperand lower sides of the needle eye. The edge configuration comprising theprotrusion 24 is formed on an offset portion of the sheet metal member,which is raised relative to the inner surface 13 of the blank 12 and isindented relative to the outer surface 14 (FIG. 2) of the member. Alsoforming part of the edge configuration are a pair of indented portions38 and 38' which are raised relative to the offset portion 40 in FIG. 1.These portions form a receptacle for the portions 27 and 27respectively, as best shown in FIG. 2, thereby simulating theconventional needle groove. A part of the outer surface of the offsetportion 40 is disposed below the shoulders 25, 26 when the needle isroll-formed as shown in FIG. 2. The shoulder 28 is disposed adjacent theedge 36 on the inner surface 13 of the blank member 12. This arrangementreinforces the metal thickness around the needle eye therebysubstantially strengthening this part of the needle 11. It should benoted that the vertical edge from which the curved edge 37 depends doesnot continue beyond the center line of the needle eye, otherwise, thethread could not properly enter the needle eye 41.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the needle of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprising ahollow needle of the easy-threading type. As shown, the overlappingshoulders 25, 26 sufficiently are spaced from the offset portion 40 toallow for easy threading of the needle merely by wiping the thread Talong the outer surface 14 of the needle 11 into the eye 41. The threadis then longitudinally disposed in the lumen or bore 44 of the hollowneedle 11, FIG. 2, while the top part thereof is secured to a threadsupply (not shown).

FIG. 3A shows another embodiment of a hollow needle which is not of theeasy-threading type. As shown, the overlapping shoulders 25, 26 aredisposed contiguous to the outer surface of the indented portion 40.Thus, threading of the needle is relatively more difiicult since thereis no opening as in the embodiment of FIG. 3 through which the threadmay be passed to enter the needle eye 41. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3A, the needle may be threaded by using a wire-type threadingdevice. By attaching the thread from the thread supply to one end ofsuch a device the operator may then proceed to thread the needle fromthe shank to the needle eye by inserting the wire into the bore 44 ofthe hollow needle and drawing it through the needle eye 41 with thethread attached thereto.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a third embodiment of the inventioncomprising an easy-threading hollow needle 51 roll-formed from a sheetmetal blank 52 having the neces sary edge configuration disposed withina needle point portion 55 to form a conical-shaped tapered needle point75, a longitudinally defined bore 76 and a needle eye 74. The blank hasan inner surface 53 and an outer surface 54. The needle point is formedin a manner similar to the point 42 in the preceding embodiment by apair of tapered points 56, 57 respectively defined by a pair of edges58, 59 and 60, 61. The points are constructed and arranged so that theydefine an inverted V-shaped cutout area 62 between the edges 58, 60whereby when the blank is roll-formed into the needle 51 shown in FIG. 5the tapered points overlap to form the needle point 75. The edgeconfiguration of the needle point portion 55 is formed substantiallysimilar to that shown in FIG. 1. However, the edge 61 of the taperedpoint 57, which corresponds to the edge 21 in FIG. 1, is abruptlyterminated by an oppositely sloping edge 70 as shown in FIG. 4. The edge61 preferably is terminated in this manner, rather than extend furtherupward, to facilitate threading of the needle eye 74. An L-shapedshoulder member 63 is formed in proximity to and above the tapered point57. This shoulder member, which facilitates easy threading of the needleeye 74, comprises a round elongated cantilever member 64 and asupporting member 65 disposed substantially perpendicular to saidcantilever member. The member 64 is integrally formed, with the blank 53and the member 65. An inner edge 68 of the cantilever member of theshoulder 63 and an edge 67 of the blank define a round elongated opening66 which forms the needle eye 74 illustrated in FIG. 5. An upper andlower portion 78 and 78' which are raised relative to the surface 53 ofthe blank as shown in FIG. 4, simulate a conventional needle groove orchannel when roll-formed into the needle shown in FIG. 5. A space orchannel like area 69, which essentially is defined by the edge 70 andthe inner lower rounded portion of the member 64, is located so thatwhen the blank is rolled to form the hollow needle, the operator readilycan thread the needle eye by wiping the thread along the needle surface54 under the shoulder 63 into the eye 74. Along the edge of the blankopposite the shoulder 63 is formed a notched-out portion 71 comprising ashelf-like edge 73 and a vertical edge 72. This portion is arranged sothat the edge 72 substantially coincides with the inner edge 68 of thecantilever member 64, as best shown in FIG. 4, to form one side of theelongated needle eye 74, while the edge 67 of the blank forms the otheredge of the needle eye. A portion 77 raised relative to the surface 53is formed adjacent the shelf-like edge 73 for receiving the portion 78therein when the needle is roll-formed as shown in FIG. 5 to form theneedle groove. Thus, it is seen that the edge configuration formed at 71substantially is complementary to the configuration defined by shoulder63 to enable formation of the needle eye. The member 64 overlaps theedge 72 and preferably is spaced from the outer surface '54 (see FIG. 6)of the hollow needle 51 to allow for easy threading of the needle.

It is to be understood that although the needle shown in FIG. 5 is ofthe easy-threading type, it also can be formed with the cantilevermember 64 flush against the outer surface 54 of the needle, wherebythreading would be accomplished in substantially the same manner as forthe hollow needle shown in FIG. 3A. Also, although the edges of thepartially illustrated shank portion of the needles have been shown todefine a longitudinal opening (FIGS. 2 and 5) disposed above the needleeye, it is to be understood that the design of the hollow needle may besuch that these edges will be roll-formed into substantial abuttingrelation thereby eliminating this opening.

Numerous alternations of the structure herein disclosed will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of myinvention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to beconstrued as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications whichdo not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to beincluded therein.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. A hollow needle having a needle point and a needle eye adapted foruse in a sewing machine, comprising an elongated rolled metal blankmember having at least a first longitudinal extending edge and formed atan extremity thereof with a pair of overlapping needle point formingmembers defining the needle point of said hollow needle, protrudingmeans disposed on the first edge of the rolled member and forming with acomplemental portion of the rolled member a thread-receiving aperture inthe surface of said hollow needle, said rolled metal blank member beingconstructed and arranged so that said thread-receiving aperturecomprises the needle eye of said hollow needle and simultaneously isformed with said needle point.

2. A hollow needle according to claim 1 wherein each of the needle pointforming members comprises a tapered configuration thereby to define aconically-shaped needle point.

3. A hollow needle according to claim 1 wherein the rolled member has asecond longitudinal extending edge disposed opposite the first edge, anedge configuration including said protruding means formed on at leastsaid first edge and forming therewith an elongated opening that isdisposed proximate the second edge thereby to define said needle eye.

4. A hollow needle according to claim 1 wherein the rolled memberincludes a second longitudinal extending edge disposed opposite thefirst edge and each of the longitudinal edges includes an edgeconfiguration constructed and arranged to define said needle point andsaid needle eyev 5. A hollow needle according to claim 4 wherein atleast one of said edge configurations includes a shoulder extendingtherefrom and overlapping a predetermined portion of the other edgeconfiguration.

6. A hollow needle according to claim 5 wherein the overlapping shouldersufficiently is spaced from the proximate outer surface of the otheredge configuration whereby threading of the needle is facilitated.

7. A hollow needle according to claim 5 wherein the overlapping shoulderis disposed contiguous to the proximate outer surface portion of saidother edge configuration.

8. A hollow needle according to claim 4 wherein one of said edgeconfigurations is formed on a surface portion of the rolled memberoffset relative to the surface adjacent thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 38,282 4/1863 Brown ll2-2221,073,140 9/1913 Kendig 1 12224 1,333,259 3/1920 Kendig ll2224 RICHARDJ. SCANLAN, 111., Primary Examiner

